Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch didn't let a knee injury slow him down as he hobbled onto the podium at Ball Arena, handing off his crutches with a determined grin. Settling into his seat for Game 1 of the conference semifinals against the Nuggets, Finch joked, "All right, that's easy."
Just days before, Finch had surgery to fix a ruptured patellar tendon, an injury from a collision with point guard Mike Conley during the first-round sweep of the Phoenix Suns. Despite the setback, Finch, who led the Wolves to a stellar 56-26 record and the No. 3 seed, was eager to be on the sidelines, albeit from a slightly different vantage point.
"I feel pretty good, all things considered," Finch said. "The plan was to try to be here all along. Just see how I felt day by day and then just kind of figure out logistically how it might work being on the bench and with the other coaches."
Although Finch planned to coach the game, he admitted he would rely heavily on assistant coach Micah Nori for the more active duties during the game.
"I'll be on the bench, but the game interaction, the game flow will be largely run by Micah," Finch said. "And I'm obviously not in a position to be able to get up, call timeouts, interact with the players, that kind of stuff. But being right there with the coaches and the players in the huddles, that stuff will be the same."
Even with the game-time adjustments, the Wolves were ready to face the Nuggets. Nuggets coach Michael Malone acknowledged his past connections with Finch, Nori, and Wolves general manager Tim Connelly, but emphasized that once the game started, those relationships would take a back seat.
"Whether it's people we know or don't know, once that jump ball goes up, they're in our way," Malone said.
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